Salvation Army behind on donation goal as campaign end nears

Alex Simone, St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
·2 min read

Dec. 12—There are just a few weeks left of the Salvation Army's Red Kettle campaign, but the level of donations so far is drawing some concern.

The initiative has raised around $145,000 since the start of November, less than half the goal of $358,000.

It would be ideal to have close to 60% of the fund goal by now, Salvation Army Major Ronald Key said, and if the campaign doesn't hit its goal, then efforts will have to be adjusted to cut back on how much money is utilized.

"Either we help less people or we help the same people, same amount of people, but less funding," he said. "That's what we'll have to consider in January and see where we're at. And try to figure out where we were from this, you know, last January until getting us to the next November."

Having more volunteers to help with bell ringing is always an asset, but reaching the donation goal is a bigger concern this year, Key said.

"In the past because of COVID, we didn't always have enough people," he said. "That's not our problem this year. Our problem is just less donations, whatever that may be. But it could be economy based, I don't know."

The red kettle workers typically have been stationed at Walmart, Sam's Club and Hy-Vee. Letting residents know where the kettles are stationed, as well as what the Salvation Army needs and how the funds are used, are among the most important questions to answer, Key said.

"If you can answer those, we answer those three questions, that will help people understand," he said. "'Hey, I'm giving to the Salvation Army, how is it going to be needed? Where's it going to be needed? What can I do to help that need?' I think those are the three big things that people hear. They answer these questions."

People can even choose what cause they want to put money toward, from emergency assistance to youth and senior programs. It also helps that all of the donations received are kept in the community to be used locally, Key said.

Alex Simone can be reached at alex.simone@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter at @NPNOWSimone.